1st Edition

The British Army 1815-1914

Edited By Harold E. Raugh Copyright 2006
    596 Pages
    by Routledge

    596 Pages
    by Routledge

    This collection of essays examines the evolution of the British Army during the century-long Pax Britannica, from the time Wellington considered its soldiers 'the scum of the earth' to the height of the imperial epoch, when they were highly-respected 'soldiers of the Queen'. The British Army during this period was a microcosm and reflection of the larger British society. As a result, this study of the British Army focuses on its character and composition, its officers and men, efforts to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and its role and performance on active service while an instrument of British Government policy.

    Contents: Introduction. Part I The British Army of the Pax Britannica: an Historiographical Review: The British Army, 1815-56: recent writing reviewed, Hew Strachan; The British Army, 1856-1914: recent writing reviewed, Edward M. Spiers; Imperial defence and the Victorian army, Peter Burroughs. Part II Soldiers of the Queen: The Officer Corps and Other Ranks: The British Army in 1850, H. Moyse-Bartlett; The late Victorian army, Brian Bond; The human cost of imperial defence in the early Victorian age, Peter Burroughs; The social origins of British army officers, C.B. Otley; The educational background of British army officers, C.B. Otley; Training ground for a future Field Marshal: Wavell in the Boer War and Edwardian India, 1901-08, Harold E. Raugh. Part III Army Reform: Increasing the Efficiency of the Force: Reform and Wellington's post-Waterloo army, 1815-54, Richard L. Blanco; The early Victorian army and the 19th-century revolution in government, Hew Strachan; The early 19th century campaign against flogging in the army, J.R. Dinwiddy; The attempted control of venereal disease in the army of mid-Victorian England, Richard L. Blanco; Army recruiting reform, 1861-67, Richard L. Blanco; Edward Cardwell's army reforms, 1868-74, Brian Bond; Abolition of purchase in the British Army, Arvel B. Erickson; Army and society in England, 1870-1900: a reassessment of the Cardwell reforms, Albert V. Tucker; Reforming the infantry of the line, 1900-14, Edward M. Spiers; Rearming the Edwardian artillery, Edward M. Spiers. Part IV Military Technology: From Muzzle-Loading Musket to Maxim Machine Gun: Technology and imperialism: a case study of the Victorian army in Africa, Howard Bailes; Expeditionary forces: superior technology defeated - The battle of Maiwand, Ali A. Jalali and Lester W. Grau; The use of the Dum Dum bullet in colonial warfare, Edward M. Spiers. Part V British Military Thought: Shedding the Fetters of Orthodoxy: British military thought, 1856-9

    Biography

    Dr Harold E. Raugh is Command Historian, DLIFLC and POM, Monterey, USA.